Aging is a part of living. Growing old gracefully is choice, a choice that includes planning for the future and embracing what life has in store. With more and more people getting older and living longer, it makes sense for all of us to give careful consideration to the lives we want to live 10, 20, or 30 years from now. So how do we get started? We start by being honest about our current situation and making decisions now about our futures.
Last week’s Health Watch guest Dr. Eva Mor, epidemiologist, gerontologist and author of the book, Making the Golden Years Golden, gave us food for thought about aging. The explosion of aging Baby Boomers is forcing the entire nation to reconsider what it means to grow older. With more disposable income, accumulated wealth, technological savvy, and education the elderly are demanding more and better options. Take for instance housing and long-term care.
Most people want to be as independent as long as they possibly can. The ability to remain in ones’ home is a big part of this. A generation ago, when aging loved ones could no longer care for themselves, their choices were limited. Either move in with relatives or into nursing homes. This is not the case today. Although living with relatives and nursing homes are what some elders choose, others are opting for other arrangements. Some of these choices include hiring part-time or round the clock sitters for care and support at home. Others are selling their homes and moving into assisted living facilities and retirement communities. Some are opting to rent space in their homes to non-relatives or become boarders in others’ homes. Still others are choosing new living concepts like the Green House Project, small communities of elders and support staff living together. (www.thegreenhouseproject.org)These choices are making the prospect of growing older less troubling and more engaging. That is a wonderful thing.
If you are someone you love needs to think about long-term care and housing, start by taking a look around where you currently live. Are the main rooms of the house all on one level? If you or your loved one were confined to a wheelchair, would mobility around the house be affected? Are the bathrooms designed for easier access by someone who is frail? Are front stairs easy to climb or is a ramp available? If not, then perhaps it is time to make upgrades to ensure you can remain in your home for as long as possible. Thinking about things like this on the front end can make decisions that much easier later on.
For more information about how to make the golden years golden, you might want to check out Dr. Mor’s website, www.goldenyearsgolden.com. Aging does not have to be burdensome if we embrace it with thoughtfulness and care. That’s what Health Watch intends to do and we hope you do the same. Until next time remember, “When we know better. We should do better. So pass it on.”
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Stay on the Watch Tower
There is perhaps no more helpless feeling than seeing someone you love in need and not knowing how to help them. That is a special torture. One that many of us face when someone we know is ill and hospitalized. It is easy to feel overwhelmed, unsure of what to do or how best to help. Hospitals are intimidating places. So much so that most of us sit quietly, step aside and let the healthcare professionals do their jobs to care for our loved ones. This is both right and wrong.
Healthcare professionals and the care they provide in hospitals are vitally important. However, neither is perfect. Both are susceptible to errors, shortages, and the like. What happens outside of hospitals- economic downturns, more people uninsured, rising healthcare costs, insurance restrictions, an increasingly aging population and sicker people – affects what happens inside hospitals. All of these influence the type and quality of care they provide. Sometimes this care is less than it should be.
So how can we make sure those we care about get good quality care in hospitals? It is not by sitting passively on the sidelines. It is by staying alert, taking notes, and asking questions. We help most when we become active health advocates.
Being an advocate for someone in the hospital is not about being belligerent, condescending or bossy. Instead it is about being assertive. What does that mean? It means identifying someone in your family as the point of contact with healthcare providers for your loved one. It is building a team of family, friends or hired assistants to stay with the hospitalized person round the clock. Being assertive means knowing who the primary physician(s) and nurse(s) are in charge of your loved ones care, making sure they know who your loved one is, and that people care about this person. It is about writing down the names, dosages, results, side effects and other information about medications, tests, and labs that your loved one undergoes while in the hospital. And more than anything it is about helping the person who is hospitalized heal by being their eyes, ears and voice in the hospital. Being an advocate means staying on the watchtower to make sure your loved one is well cared for.
This evening’s Health Watch guest, Martine Ehrenclou, author of the book, Critical Conditions: The Essential Hospital Guide to Get Your Loved One Out Alive, has a lot of insight and tips to share about how to be an effective hospital advocate. If you are interested in a step-by-step guide for the next time someone you know is hospitalized, then this might be a book for you. To find out more about the author and the book, check out this website: http://criticalconditions.com/
Health Watch is on the watchtower for our health. Make sure you do the same for someone you love. Until next time remember, “When we know better, we should do better. So pass it on.”
Healthcare professionals and the care they provide in hospitals are vitally important. However, neither is perfect. Both are susceptible to errors, shortages, and the like. What happens outside of hospitals- economic downturns, more people uninsured, rising healthcare costs, insurance restrictions, an increasingly aging population and sicker people – affects what happens inside hospitals. All of these influence the type and quality of care they provide. Sometimes this care is less than it should be.
So how can we make sure those we care about get good quality care in hospitals? It is not by sitting passively on the sidelines. It is by staying alert, taking notes, and asking questions. We help most when we become active health advocates.
Being an advocate for someone in the hospital is not about being belligerent, condescending or bossy. Instead it is about being assertive. What does that mean? It means identifying someone in your family as the point of contact with healthcare providers for your loved one. It is building a team of family, friends or hired assistants to stay with the hospitalized person round the clock. Being assertive means knowing who the primary physician(s) and nurse(s) are in charge of your loved ones care, making sure they know who your loved one is, and that people care about this person. It is about writing down the names, dosages, results, side effects and other information about medications, tests, and labs that your loved one undergoes while in the hospital. And more than anything it is about helping the person who is hospitalized heal by being their eyes, ears and voice in the hospital. Being an advocate means staying on the watchtower to make sure your loved one is well cared for.
This evening’s Health Watch guest, Martine Ehrenclou, author of the book, Critical Conditions: The Essential Hospital Guide to Get Your Loved One Out Alive, has a lot of insight and tips to share about how to be an effective hospital advocate. If you are interested in a step-by-step guide for the next time someone you know is hospitalized, then this might be a book for you. To find out more about the author and the book, check out this website: http://criticalconditions.com/
Health Watch is on the watchtower for our health. Make sure you do the same for someone you love. Until next time remember, “When we know better, we should do better. So pass it on.”
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